Are You Pursuing the Wrong Why?

by Drew Holmes

Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Ty Buttrey throws to a Texas Rangers batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 10, 2020. Buttrey has retired from baseball, saying he has lost his affection for the game. Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press

By Drew Holmes

Ty Buttrey is not a household name unless you are a special breed of baseball fan. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I knew him as an up and coming pitcher who was on the cusp of making a splash but was sent to the Angels in a trade deadline deal to bring a much-needed piece for a World Series run (they ended up winning, so it all worked out). Imagine my surprise when I recently saw a news article that Ty decided to retire from professional baseball at age 28.

I was curious.

I read this article and was left with an overwhelming sense of admiration for him and his decision to walk away from the game. He grew up playing baseball, and whenever he faced an obstacle like not making a team, he would work ten times harder to prove to everyone else that he was not a failure. As he progressed as a player, this snowballed into viewing baseball as less of a game and more of a business. He was good at it, but the passion was missing. So instead of continuing to be Ty Buttrey, the baseball player, he has chosen to just be Ty.

He never was pursuing the All-Star appearances or World Series rings, though those can be nice perks. It was not even about the comfortable salary that comes with being a top-level professional athlete. He wanted to show everyone else he could do it and, in the end, that is not enough. After 24 years of baseball, he realized that he had been pursuing the wrong why.

Now, as someone who is historically motivated by spite (I kept my rejection letter from Princeton as a reminder of who I needed to prove wrong) I can relate. And that can be a great tool to stay on track and persevere through the hard times. But in the end, it is living your life for someone else. It is the wrong why.

Some will criticize Ty Buttrey and say he is squandering his talents. They will say he owes it to the game or his fans to pursue a career and succeed at all costs. I disagree. We are given precious little time in our lives and we do not know when that time will run out. I am not advocating unbridled selfishness, far from it. But I do believe that spending even one minute going through the motions and not finding the inherent joy that is living, is a crime. And the worst part is, you are stealing from yourself.

Ty Buttrey’s decision should give us pause to reflect on the choices we have made and the paths we are on. And if we find that we need to change course, I hope we all have the courage to do so. Even if it takes 24 years to realize it.